


The sub sucks, and Zuko is a sucker for social justice

by AmmoKnotKnot7



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asking Out, M/M, Protective Sokka (Avatar), Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, sokka is confused, warning: ignorant ableism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:08:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24508930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmmoKnotKnot7/pseuds/AmmoKnotKnot7
Summary: Sokka and Teo have been best friends since high school and are now roommates in college. An early morning class with a substitute is bad enough, but he also has to be an asshole.This triggers Sokka's protective side, making a certain quiet classmate of his actually talk to him.Which is shocking in itself, then he turns out to be cute. Shit.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 29
Kudos: 1079





	The sub sucks, and Zuko is a sucker for social justice

**Author's Note:**

> This is the most random little something inspired by someone's story of being discriminated against in class. Some practice while I work on longer things.
> 
> Content warning : Ableism

Sokka tried to inhale his coffee as he stumbled into his 8 am class, his brain still not quite all there. He turned to greet his professor like every Thursday -

-and stopped short to groan internally. 

So today was a sub day. Great. All of Sokka’s efforts to get out of bed (okay, mostly Teo’s incessant and very patient badgering) have been for naught. Teo was already there, at his  specialized no-chair desk, and Sokka flopped down next to him. He would indulge Sokka’s complaining, Sokka knew, and his dramatics.  So, he did the natural thing and faceplanted onto the wood with a thump.

“It’s too earllyy, and they won’t even do us the favor of actually showing up to teach,” he grumbled into the desk.

Teo chuckled good naturedly. “You could always just walk out, what’s the sub  gonna say anyway.”

“Nah no point. Not like I'd be able to go back to bed  _ now _ ”

Teo hummed with his head already buried in his backpack, extracting relevant binders and books. Like they were actually  gonna have a lesson. If the sub didn’t call roll and pass out on the teacher’s table Sokka would eat all the pages Teo was now unloading onto their desk. 

Apparently, the professor in question had sent graded homework with this particular sub. Perfect, Sokka thought, let's get some sense of personal failure by way of standardized testing in before noon. That’s how we all like to start our college mandated  _ unreasonably early  _ days.

Sokka is the sarcasm guy for a reason.

Names were called and people walked up one by one. Sokka collected his and stood there flipping through it, waiting for Teo’s. 

“Teo Hamada”

“Yeah I’ll take that one as well”

Sokka swiftly grabbed the sheets drive by on his way to his desk. As he settled, he noticed the sub looked none too pleased.

“What you can't collect your own homework like everyone else in the classroom? Too special, too popular, or too lazy huh? You pay your friend for his services? Spoiled rich kid or something?”

All those many words certainly took a  surprisingly short amount of time to  come tumbling out of his mouth. There was a beat, everyone frozen, as the words were parsed through and  actually registered. Sokka’s breath had quickened and face hardened more every second the sub had been speaking, and by the end Sokka could only hear a roaring in his ears, the sub’s slimy smug voice echoing in his mind. He fumed, all protective rage, and put his ability to snark to good use.

“Hey! Mister. You might  wanna check your biases. And maybe also your eyes. He’s not in the wheelchair for the looks and glamor of a  _ spoiled rich  _ _ kid. “ _

The sneer on the sub’s face transformed. Sokka watched with grim satisfaction and he went wide eyed slack jawed. It was almost comical. Almost. 

Predictably the sub fell all over himself trying to save face and  apologize . “Oh god I’m sorry, I'm so sorry Mr. Hamada I -”

“Yeah you should be,” Sokka hissed through his teeth, with all the bristling anger  of his big-brother man-of-the-house tendencies. Teo reached a hand to his shoulder to reign him in a little. “Hey it’s not a big deal”

Sokka rounded at him with disbelieving eyes. “Of course, it’s a big deal. He was mocking you for not getting up, he has no right.”

“He didn’t know Sokka.”

“And what, that makes it okay?”

“No, but-” Teo looks resigned in a way that made Sokka need to hold on to his anger because otherwise he might cry. Or scream. “It’s not okay but it’s..excusable - understandable.”

Sokka wanted to argue. He was going to argue. He had almost forgotten about the sub in his indignation over Teo’s acquiescence of this. But before he could go into his rant of how Teo deserves accessibility and normalcy and has rights (which Teo has heard  _ so many times _ ), the  slime ball in question made his presence known.

“Mr. Hamada I am thoroughly chastised. I will personally provide you with a full humble written apology, on behalf on the institution if required”

“That will not be necessary sir, thank you”

Sokka grumbled and crossed his arms, sitting back into his chair and staring the dumb sub down. Teo might have let it go because he’s nice and polite and other reasons Sokka refused to think about because they hurt, but he still had so much annoyance he wanted to let out at this man. He muttered something indecent under his breath. Sub, the moron, caught it.

“Mr.  Hakodasson ! I admit my honest mistake, but I  will not tolerate rudeness in my class. Kindly leave the room”

“Gladly”, he spit out. Sokka had been grinding his teeth since this thing began, and  the word was barely audible, sounding more like a growl caught in his throat. He snatched up his pack and stormed out, knocking against the teacher’s table just slightly enough that it could be passed off as a mistake, but everyone knew it wasn’t.

He dropped his bag on the floor and leaned against the wall next to the door, waiting out the rest of the class stubbornly fuming. As the class started to file out, he waited for Teo’s wheels to enter his line of sight, not bothering to lift his head or uncross his arms and loosen out of the tight bunched in position he had been leaning in.

Hesitant and very expensive sneakers stopped next to him instead.

“ Hi... ”

He looked up. It was Zuko Sozin, the guy infamous on campus for the gnarly scar over his left eye and cheek, and for his scary dangerous little sister who had already graduated last year. Sokka had noticed him in some of his classes, tried talking to him a few times. His participation in those conversations had been grunts, hums, yeses and no’s, bare minimum required to qualify as conversations at all. And from what Sokka had heard, that’s how it went whenever anyone tried to talk to him. He had definitely never initiated anything himself, so Sokka could be  forgiven for being quite taken aback by the sight in front of him now. 

He did look very out of his element, like he was  approaching a hissing venomous snake, not another boy his age. His posture was wary, eyes dancing everywhere but at Sokka’s face, hands shoved into his pockets and feet shuffling a little. Sokka almost thought he imagined him talking, except he was still just standing there. 

“ Uh..hey there man.”

“I just – uh - I wanted to say that – uh – that was really cool – in there – what you did, for your friend – uh – standing up for him. Not everyone would have done that.”

Zuko did not strike Sokka as the type of guy to care about anything like that. The guy seemed to hardly notice that other people existed, living in his little introverted emo bubble, hood up headphones on anytime you see him between classes, and single mindedly focused during them. It felt a little unreal, like maybe Sokka hadn't actually woken up for class after all and his  dreams..

..were about this sullen (if admittedly good-looking) classmate of his. 

Right. 

Except even his dreams were less awkward than this. Which meant it was actually happening. The whole thing had Sokka’s world  spinning off kilter. He felt a  little breathless. 

“Um. Yeah. Thanks. He’s, I mean, we’re close. He’s my roommate and best friend. Has been since high school. Always makes me mad when people treat him like that. So. Yeah. I would have stood up for him even if I didn’t know him,  of course , but this isn’t the first time it’s happened and it’s just. Maddening you know.”

A funny look passed over Zuko’s face. It almost made his features look...soft. But before Sokka could comprehend it, it was gone, and Zuko took in a shuddering breath. He finally met Sokka’s eyes, a steady determined gaze, and holy shit are those eyes  _ golden _ . 

Distracted as he was by the color, he couldn’t help but notice that Zuko was looking at him like he was gearing up for a fight. Or a particularly difficult quest he is determined to get  _ right _ . It made Sokka squirm under the intensity. 

“Look, I know we  haven't talked very much and that’s mostly on me, but would you want to – uh – go somewhere. With me. Not – not in a creepy way – just – to eat – or – get coffee - “

Zuko had started off in a rush, then whatever had fueled him to begin seemed to sputter out somewhere around the middle and he faltered and stumbled his way through the rest, looking increasingly upset with himself. It would have almost been endearing, if Sokka’s brain could function at all right now. 

And  so, his body defaulted to spitting out words  without running them by his brain first. You know, his life. 

“Like a date?”

Zuko  _ flushed _ the deepest red Sokka had ever seen on anyone.

Over these last two years, Sokka had used many adjectives with regards Zuko. Most were not flattering, and some of the nicer ones had included mysterious, hot, sexy, even handsome on rare occasion. To this day, adorable hadn’t even been in the ballpark. 

But there he was. Zuko  Sozin himself, blushing from the tips of his ears to under his collar (and god now Sokka  _ needed _ to find out where that flush ended), looking for all intents and purposes, like he was bashfully trying, apparently, to  _ ask Sokka out _ , and looking utterly adorable. There was literally no other word for it, and now Sokka’s world had  turned fully over.

“...kind of?”

Zuko was looking away again, shoulders to his ears like it could hide anything at all.

Things started to click together in Sokka’s mind, and his brain came online all of a sudden. Bringing his cocky, confident, full-of-himself (shut up  Katara ) grin to his face with it. Sokka might be feeling like  everything he knew to be true had been tossed and burned, but his brain was working now and highlighted the important facts, namely, a cute guy trying to ask him out, and being  beautifully shy about it. The appropriate response  of course , is to flirt back, and flirt he will dammit.

“Well then, I’ll go on this kind of date. I’ve been on dates, and not dates, but never kind of ones. Should be fun.” 

Zuko could now meet his eyes, but only because embarrassment and nervousness had been replaced by confusion. Complete tilted head, light furrow between his brows, puppy-like confusion. God Sokka was melting how had he never noticed that this boy is an awkward adorable mess. 

“ Um... \- What “

“You  wanna take me out? Ask me out properly you adorable jerk.”

Zuko looked utterly baffled now. Something must have filtered through though because after a second he went, “Right, right, yeah. Um. Will you go on a date, with me?”

Sokka’s grin was trying to outshine the summer sun. “Yes, yes I will”

**Author's Note:**

> Sokka : you better believe I will fight on behalf of my friends  
> Zuko : *spilling whatever he's holding* oh no I'm in love
> 
> This is such fun part of their dynamic to explore. Zuko has always stood up for fair treatment in canon, and we know how protective Sokka can get.


End file.
